Evektor-Aerotechnik SPORTSTAR PLUS N617EV

Summary

On 15 November 2007 at about 18:25 local time, a Evektor-Aerotechnik SPORTSTAR PLUS registered N617EV was involved in an accident near Erie, Colorado, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

15 November 2007 at 18:25

Classification

Accident

Location

Erie, Colorado, United States

Nearest airport

Erie Municipal Airport (EIK)

Coordinates

40.0100, -105.0478

Aircraft

Evektor-Aerotechnik SPORTSTAR PLUS

Registration

N617EV

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

DEN08LA031

Nobody was injured.

The student pilot's failure to maintain directional control during landing. Contributing factors were the delayed remedial action and inadequate supervision by the flight instructor, and the ditch.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

During the final approach for a full stop landing, the airplane was configured to an airspeed of 60 knots and a flap setting of 15 degrees. The instructor reported, "The airplane was flared and touched down on the main wheels then the nose wheel was lowered at approximately A2 taxiway slightly right of centerline. I instructed the student that we would continue to roll-out and decelerate to the end of the runway to avoid using too much brake or rudder pressure due to their extreme sensitivity. I then instructed the student to apply light rudder pressure to realign the aircraft with the runway centerline. Ample left rudder pressure was applied and countered with opposite right rudder pressure resulting in pilot induced oscillations. The aircraft swerved dramatically from left to right and then again to the left and right where it exited the runway surface. The plane came to a stop in a drainage ditch on the right side of runway 33 and slightly north of the closed runway." During the traffic pattern and landing, the flight instructor and student were both on the airplane controls. The winds were reported as calm during the accident. The flight training supplement for the accident airplane instructs pilots not to apply main wheel brakes unintentionally when taxiing. The flight training supplement also states that aircraft steering at higher speeds is more sensitive, therefore smaller deflections of the rudder control pedals are required to maintain directional control. Examination of the airplane revealed the nose gear was bent aft and the firewall was buckled.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.